Over the past two decades kidnapping for ransom and hostage taking have become a booming multimillion dollar business. You need to remember that only the high-profile cases make the mainstream media, if an American is kidnapped in Syria, it’s a big deal, if a Syrian is kidnapped, nobody bats an eye. If a blond American girl goes missing while on holiday its front-page news, in contrast no-one knows and very few care about how many Latino girls have disappeared in places like Mexico.
These days you do not need to be a high roller to be kidnapped or involved in a hostage situation, it can happen to anyone. If you are an international traveler you need to be especially aware of the threat from kidnapping even if you’re not going to one of the worlds kidnapping hotspots like Haiti, Mexico, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Nigeria, Colombia or the Philippines.
The fact you are a foreigner, can make you a target especially in poor countries, where the contents of the luggage, watch and jewelry of most travelers from the U.S. or Western Europe will at least match, if not far exceed the average monthly earnings of most citizens.
It is very difficult to get accurate figures on kidnapping rates as a lot of incidents are not reported to the authorities or media, also governments keen to attract tourists and investors try to keep official crime rates favorable. You should do your research and a threat assessment on all locations you’ll be visiting and identify what the main threats are. If you identify a kidnapping threat look for patterns in how the kidnappers operate and work out procedures to avoid them.
When we talk about kidnapping most people immediately think of kidnapping for ransom, which is a very lucrative business in some countries. If someone is kidnapped for ransom or favors you need to remember that the person is a valuable commodity to be bargained for, they will be kept alive as long as the kidnappers believe that they are of value. The negotiation for this type of kidnapping is a business negotiation; you’re buying back an asset.
There are cases where people are kidnapped for favors, and not for money. The media has now termed this “Tiger Kidnapping” after some incidents made the news. For example, a son or daughter of an influential person would be kidnapped and released after the parents have done the kidnappers a favor.
In Colombia in 2003 the Marxist terrorist group the ELN, kidnapped a young lady from the town of Cocorna, the ransom demanded was her father kill one of their enemies. He refused and a few days later the girl’s body was found dumped on the side of a road with a gunshot wound to the head. This would be an extremely difficult situation to deal with as the terms were very rigid.
If the kidnappers are professionals there is a good chance that a hostage would be released when the ransom demands are met, it would be a bad business practice not to, as it would deter payments for future hostages. On the other side of the coin if the ransom demands are not met, it would be a good business practice to execute the hostage, to encourage future payments. The professionalism of kidnappers varies greatly from those that are highly skilled to Neanderthals; all, however, are capable of extreme violence. There is never any guarantee that when a ransom is paid the victim will be released.
So, the golden rule: Don’t get kidnapped!! Plan, prepare, avoid, avoid and avoid… And… Don’t get kidnapped!!
Books on Amazon
Kidnap & Ransom: The Essentials of Kidnapping Prevention
This book will show you some of the realities of the kidnap and ransom business and give some basic information on what you can do to make yourself a harder target!
Audio Book @ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FF37XDKM
Kindle @ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BVPQTS7
Paper Back @ https://www.amazon.com/dp/1719057311
Hard Cover @ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FKSP91JK
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